Mavericks land first-overall pick after 2025 NBA Draft Lottery
After months of anticipation, the results are in. The Dallas Mavericks shockingly won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery on Monday night, earning the right to presumably draft Duke standout Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick.
CHICAGO — The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career.
And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.
The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft — and the first chance to take Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season and the consensus player of the year.
Dallas bucked huge odds to get it done, with only a 1.8 per cent chance to win the lottery coming into Monday. A Mavericks team that went to the NBA Finals last season, then scorned its fans by trading away Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, left Chicago with the biggest prize.
San Antonio — with back-to-back rookies of the year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle — will pick second, Philadelphia will pick third, and Charlotte will pick fourth.
Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48 per cent from the field, 39 per cent from 3-point range, 84 per cent from the foul line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.
And he’s had success against NBA players already. Last summer, when the U.S. Olympic team was holding its training camp in Las Vegas in advance of the Paris Games — where the Americans won gold yet again — Flagg was part of the select team brought in to scrimmage against the Olympians.
Flagg, who was 17 years old at the time, more than held his own in those workouts.
The Mavericks 1.8 per cent odds were the fourth-lowest in NBA history to land the No. 1 pick.
Entering the draw, the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets had the best odds at landing the No. 1 selection with each holding a 14-per-cent chance. The Toronto Raptors held a 7.5-per-cent likelihood of leapfrogging from the seventh spot all the way to first.
Here is a look at the 2025 draft lottery results.
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Charlotte Hornets
5. Utah Jazz
6. Washington Wizards
7. New Orleans Pelicans
8. Brooklyn Nets
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Houston Rockets (Via Phoenix)
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Atlanta Hawks
14. San Antonio Spurs (Via Atlanta)
-With files from Sportsnet Staff
